About Felicia
The two-sentence version
I am Dr. Felicia A. Henry-Conteh – sociologist, artivist, founder. I teach in the Department of Sociology at American University, while curating exhibitions through Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL), holding space for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women at B(L)K/WMN, and restoring what it means to be for Black creatives in Baltimore through Ode. The work moves across the academy, the studio, and the room because the questions I am asking cannot be answered in only one of them.
The longer story
My work lives at the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, and class; carceral studies and critical criminology; arts-based activism; disasters and the environment; and social vulnerability. I received my PhD in Sociology from the University of Delaware.
My dissertation, "I Knew It Was Covid; I Knew I Was on Probation": The Impact of the Carceral State on Black Women's Disaster Experiences, used the COVID-19 pandemic as a context to examine how criminal legal involvement affects Black women under community supervision. Where most disaster research treats the criminal legal system as background, I argue that it is both a contributor to and an unveiling of social vulnerability that the field cannot ignore.
My work has been funded by the University of Delaware and Arnold Ventures Foundation, and published in Sociology Compass, Critical Criminology, Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research, Environmental Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Social Sciences and Humanities Open. The version of the work that travels, that gets into the rooms where the questions actually live, moves through exhibitions, spoken word, residencies, and partnerships with directly impacted artists and organizers. That practice is what I call scholar-artivism.
The newest piece of the work is Ode., a restorative arts home rising in Baltimore. Where BTWBTL is the movement and B(L)K/WMN is the space for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women across distance, Ode. is the physical home: a third space where artists, creatives, and neighbors gather, work, and rest. Learn more at odebk.com.
Awards & recognition
These are the recognitions that have funded the work and named the people who said yes to it.
Bill Anderson Fund Fellow — community of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous scholars in disaster research
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Arnold Ventures Foundation
George Herbert Ryden Prize in the Social Sciences
Unidel Award in Sociology and Criminal Justice
University Unidel Distinguished Graduate Scholar Award
Corlett Nagel Family Disaster Research Center Enrichment Fund Award
Natural Hazards Center Graduate Student Paper Award
Book me
Six ways to work together: research talks, workshops, community dialogues, creative coaching, research projects, and proposal writing. For universities, foundations, museums, community organizations, and the creatives and small-business owners I coach.
→ See the full work I do and how to bring me in
Frequently asked questions
What is artivism?
Artivism, or arts-based activism, is what happens when art does the political work that white papers cannot. I treat spoken word, exhibition, photography, and performance as ways of making arguments and building movements, on equal footing with the interviews and the citations. My research uses artivism as both subject and method to study race, gender, and the carceral state.
Where do you teach?
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at American University in Washington, DC. I received my PhD in Sociology from the University of Delaware.
How do I book you for a talk, workshop, or session?
Visit the work page or send me a note at info@feliciahenry.com. I work with universities, foundations, museums, community organizations, and the creatives and small-business owners I coach. I respond within 5 business days with a proposal that fits your audience, format, and scale.
What are your research areas?
Race, ethnicity, gender, and class; carceral studies and critical criminology; arts-based activism; disasters and the environment; and social vulnerability, with a particular focus on Black women's experiences in the criminal legal system. My work has appeared in Sociology Compass, Critical Criminology, Corrections, Environmental Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Social Sciences and Humanities Open.
What is Behind the Walls, Between the Lines (BTWBTL)?
BTWBTL is the movement I founded to deepen awareness of the legacy of racial inequity in America, particularly within carceral control, and inspire activism aimed at its dismantlement. We use spoken word and other artistic mediums to tell stories, reclaim narratives, and activate the power of those directly impacted to catalyze change.
What is B(L)K/WMN?
B(L)K/WMN is a space dedicated to and for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other creatives of Color. We support artists in pursuit of their dreams and cultivate the visibility, vision, and refusal that make Black women and other creatives of Color essential cultural workers.
What is Ode.?
Ode. is a restorative arts home I am building in Baltimore, a third space for Black artists, creatives, and neighbors to gather, work, and rest. You can learn more at odebk.com.